(8 1/2 x 11, B&W, 272 pages) For quite a few
years people have been asking me about having a printed copy
of the Yoga Sutras pages on the SwamiJ.com website. Because
of the print-on-demand technology provided by Lulu.com, this
is now available. This “book” is virtually a copy and paste
of the pages from the website. There has been some slight
reformatting to make things fit well, but it is basically
identical to the website. From time to time I will likely
update this “book” as the website is updated. I sincerely
hope that you find this useful in your journey of
meditation. I have attempted to make the translations and
descriptions as practical as possible so that you may easily
incorporate the principles into your daily meditation
practice. In loving service, Swami J (Swami Jnaneshvara
Bharati)

(8 1/2 x 11, B&W, 87 pages) This book is an expansion of the
seven-page Summary of Practices outline which I have used
for teaching and training at Abhyasa Ashram (Florida, USA)
and Sadhana Mandir (Rishikesh, India) from time to time
since 1996, and directly follows the outline on the first or
summary page of that handout. The purpose of this longer
paper is to complement meditation retreats, classes, and
one-to-one coaching sessions. The outline has been gradually
revised to make it ever more clear as an expression of the
systematic practice of meditation as taught to me and the
world in general by Swami Rama. Similarly, I will continue
to revise this book to make it increasingly clear as a
learning aid to practicing systematic meditation of the
tradition of the Himalayan masters. In loving service, Swami
J (Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati)

These four
traditional guided Yoga meditation practices of 3, 7, 11,
and 30 minutes are for those who want to gain a solid
practice in traditional meditation, especially for those who
feel they have limited time.

The methods
are consistent with the authentic meditation teachings of
the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Vedanta meditation of the
Upanishads. They integrate mindfulness and concentration
meditation, and lead one towards Kundalini awakening through
the path of meditation.

Each of the
four meditations follows the same systematic approach,
although they are of different lengths to match your time
available and your personal inclination. They each guide
your attention inward through the levels of your own body,
breath, and mind, allowing your awareness to come to rest in
a very relaxed state of deep stillness and silence. This
systematic approach of self-awareness is one of the most
direct and effective forms of meditation.

Simply decide
how long you would like to spend with your meditation, and
choose the 3, 7, 11, or 30 minute guided practice. You will
discover for yourself that calmness, serenity, and peace of
mind can be experienced in even a few minutes.

Following the
custom of the ancient sages, the depth of Yoga meditation
comes from inner awareness of the levels of your own self,
rather than by diverting attention through music, as
pleasant as music can be. Therefore, there is intentionally
no music in these recordings. This inner exploring through
self-awareness is a more refined form of meditation that
leads you deeper into the stillness and silence of your own
being.

Gently focus
your attention on each of the aspects of yourself as the
voice guides you, including awareness of your body, then
your breath, then your mind, and then beyond. Allow all of
the other thoughts, emotions, sensations, images, or
impressions to come. It is the nature of the mind for
thoughts to come. It is also natural for them to go.

As your
attention moves systematically inward, you gradually learn
to remain undisturbed, unaffected, and uninvolved by the
streams of thoughts as they naturally rise and fall. Even a
few minutes of stillness and silence, every day, is a very
nice gift to give your self.

This
meditation is an authentic rendering of Yoga Nidra as taught
in the Himalayas by the Tantra and Yoga masters. While it is
an advanced meditation practice, anyone can start the
practice and watch it deepen.

Yoga Nidra
literally means "Yogic Sleep." In this deep meditation you
train your attention to leave the chatter of the Waking
state of mind, go past the fantasy of the Dreaming state,
and consciously, intentionally enter the stillness of the
Deep Sleep state, yet paradoxically remain awake and in deep
meditation. For thousands of years the Yogis have used Yoga
Nidra to master the art of sleep, to balance the subtle
energies, and to experience greater depths of meditation.

The state of
conscious Deep Sleep or Yoga Nidra is underneath, behind, or
subtler than meditations at either the Waking or Dreaming
levels. This subtle state is called "Prajna," which means
"supreme knowing." "Pra" means "supreme," and "jna" means
"knowing." The conscious experience of this state is a
doorway to higher, formless knowing that has been called the
infinite library of wisdom and the teacher within.

The depth of
authentic Yoga Nidra comes from inner awareness of the
levels of your own self, including your body, breath, and
the subtler mind, rather than diverting attention through
music or inner fantasies (as pleasant as these may be). This
inner exploring through self-awareness is a more refined
form of meditation that leads you deeper into the stillness
and silence of your own being, while remaining fully awake
and aware. The Yoga Nidra methods bring you to a place of
awareness where you are able to completely let go of any
words, thoughts, images, impressions, or pictures in the
mind. You are guided to allow your mind to "empty, empty,
empty" though you remain fully awake and clear of mind.

The voice
will systematically guide you to explore your physical body,
then move through 61 specific points within the body, and
then practice ascending breath awareness along the body and
spine. Your attention will be brought to the space between
the eyebrows, then to the throat, and finally to the heart
center, where you will go deep into stillness and silence,
beyond the activities of the mind.

The Yoga
Nidra CD has five tracks. The first track is an introduction
(8:02 minutes), describing the state of Yoga Nidra and the
practices on the CD. The next four tracks move through four
sequential practices that are listened to together, so as to
form a complete practice of 57:24 minutes (CD is 65:36
minutes in total). These four tracks can also be listened to
individually, as complete practices unto themselves, which
allows you to have the benefits of practice when less time
is available.

I am passionate
about traditional Yoga meditation as a most
profound path to the direct experience of
the highest spiritual awakening. In addition
to practicing meditation from childhood,
from 1994 until the present I have practiced
and taught meditation from time to time in
Rishikesh, India, including one period of
more than five years when I was in
continuous residence. I continue to teach in
both India and USA, and presently live in
Florida. I was born in USA in 1948 and my
education includes a BS in Management from
Florida State University and an MA in
Consciousness, with emphasis in
Transpersonal Psychology from John F.
Kennedy University, in California. I
sincerely hope you enjoy these meditations.

Swami
Jnaneshvara Bharati ("Swami J")

-------

This site is devoted to
presenting the ancient Self-Realization path of
the Tradition of the Himalayan masters
in simple, understandable and beneficial ways, while not compromising
quality or depth. The goal of our sadhana or practices is the highest
Joy that comes from the Realization in direct experience of the
center of consciousness, the Self, the Atman or Purusha, which is
one and the same with the Absolute Reality.
This Self-Realization comes through Yoga meditation of the Yoga
Sutras, the contemplative insight of Advaita Vedanta, and the
intense devotion of Samaya Sri Vidya Tantra, the three of which
complement one another like fingers on a hand.
We employ the classical approaches of Raja, Jnana, Karma, and Bhakti
Yoga, as well as Hatha, Kriya, Kundalini, Laya, Mantra, Nada, Siddha,
and Tantra Yoga. Meditation, contemplation, mantra and prayer
finally converge into a unified force directed towards the final
stage, piercing the pearl of wisdom called bindu, leading to the
Absolute.